Rule2021-23877
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Headboats in Gulf of Mexico Fisheries
Primary source
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Published
November 2, 2021
Effective
March 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS further delays the effective date for previously approved vessel location tracking requirements applicable to an owner or operator of charter vessel or headboat for which NMFS has issued a valid Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for federally managed reef fish or coastal migratory pelagic (CMP) species in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). This delay of the effective date will provide additional time for NMFS to complete testing of an additional vessel location tracking unit and provide additional time for litigation challenging these requirements to progress.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 60374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23877]
[[Page 60374]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 210907-0179]
RIN 0648-BH72
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and
Headboats in Gulf of Mexico Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: NMFS further delays the effective date for previously approved
vessel location tracking requirements applicable to an owner or
operator of charter vessel or headboat for which NMFS has issued a
valid Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for federally managed reef
fish or coastal migratory pelagic (CMP) species in the Gulf of Mexico
(Gulf). This delay of the effective date will provide additional time
for NMFS to complete testing of an additional vessel location tracking
unit and provide additional time for litigation challenging these
requirements to progress.
DATES: The effective date for the amendments to Sec. Sec. 622.26(b)(5)
and 622.374(b)(5)(ii) through (v) that published July 21, 2020 (85 FR
44005), and delayed indefinitely, made effective December 13, 2021, on
September 14, 2021 (86 FR 51014), is delayed until March 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment
may be obtained from <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or the Southeast Regional
Office website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/et">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/et</a>.
The Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment includes an environmental
assessment, regulatory impact review, Regulatory Flexibility Act
analysis, and fishery impact statement.
The final rule that published on July 21, 2020 (85 FR 44005), and
other related rulemaking documents, may be obtained from
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, by searching ``RIN 0648-BH72.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich Malinowski, NMFS Southeast
Regional Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#17657e747f397a767b7e797860647c7e577978767639707861"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7d5cec4cf89cac6cbcec9c8d0d4cccee7c9c8c6c689c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is delaying the effective date to March
1, 2022, for the previously approved vessel location tracking
requirements, hereafter referred to as vessel monitoring system (VMS)
requirements, that apply to an owner or operator of charter vessel or
headboat for which NMFS has issued a valid Federal charter vessel/
headboat permit for federally managed reef fish or CMP species in the
Gulf.
The VMS requirements delayed by this final rule are based on the
Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment, which includes amendments to the
Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf
of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) and Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources
of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (CMP FMP). The CMP fishery in
the Gulf is managed under the CMP FMP, an FMP jointly developed by the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) and the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The Gulf reef fish fishery is
managed under the Reef Fish FMP, which is developed by the Gulf
Council. These FMPs are implemented by NMFS through regulations at 50
CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
On July 21, 2020, NMFS published the final rule to implement the
Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment (85 FR 44005). That final rule
summarized the management measures described in the Gulf For-hire
Reporting Amendment and implemented by NMFS. However, the July 21,
2020, final rule delayed indefinitely the effectiveness of VMS
requirements in 50 CFR 622.26(b)(5) and 622.374(b)(5)(ii) through (v),
which require the use of a cellular or satellite VMS, to allow time for
NMFS to test and approve cellular VMS units.
NMFS has now approved two cellular VMS units and continues to test
a third unit. Therefore, on September 14, 2021, NMFS published in the
Federal Register, a final rule announcing a December 13, 2021,
effective date for the VMS requirements (86 FR 51014). On October 4,
2021, NMFS received a petition to delay further the effective date of
these requirements until March 22, 2022. The petitioners are plaintiffs
in a lawsuit that challenges several aspects of the July 21, 2020,
rule, including the VMS requirements (Mexican Gulf Fishing Co. v. Dep't
of Commerce, Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-2312 (E.D. La)). Written
arguments in that litigation will be complete in early November and the
petitioners request the delay to allow time for the court to issue a
ruling. NMFS has determined that it is appropriate to delay the
effective date of the VMS requirements until March 1, 2022. This will
allow time for NMFS to finish testing the third cellular VMS unit,
which will provide more options to permit holders, and additional time
for the litigation to progress, but will also ensure that vessels are
equipped with these units before the busy spring break season begins.
NMFS anticipates an increase in Gulf for-hire trips during the March
2022 spring break season but will not have the ability to effectively
validate those trips if the VMS requirements are not implemented by
March 1, 2022. Therefore, NMFS is delaying the effective date of 50 CFR
622.26(b)(5) and 622.374(b)(5)(ii) through (v) until March 1, 2022.
Administrative Procedure Act
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553 applies to this action, it is
exempt from notice and comment because it constitutes a rule of
procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). Alternatively, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator (AA) also finds that there is good cause to waive the
requirements to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment
pursuant to the authority set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because such
procedures on this temporary delay are unnecessary and contrary to
public interest. Such procedures are unnecessary because this final
rule only delays the effective date of VMS requirements that NMFS
already provided prior notice and an opportunity for public comment in
the July 21, 2020, final rule (see DATES section). Such procedures
would also be contrary to the public interest because the VMS
requirements currently go into effect on December 13, 2021, and there
is a need to immediately implement this action to delay the effective
date of the final rule at 86 FR 51014 (September 14, 2021) and to
provide notice of the delay to affected fishery participants.
For these same reasons, the AA also finds good cause to waive the
30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 28, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-23877 Filed 10-28-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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